For some reason, Admiral Daelin Proudmoore had failed to intercept the Orc army completely at the Strait of Hormuz. After holding the Orcs on the southern shore for some ten days, he had ultimately allowed their army to break through into Arathi.
Meanwhile, the Orcs Main Force along the Southshore, Tarren Mill, and Alterac Valley front had already received word that Doomhammer had reached Lordaeron City and completely surrounded it.
As a result, the Orc armies on the main front shook off their previous listlessness and weakness. Morale soared among all their frontline soldiers. Facing the full assault of the Allied Army Main Force under Lothar, they showed not the slightest inclination to retreat. Instead, they not only held off the Alliance's main force but even began showing signs of launching a counterattack.
Likewise, on the Arathi Battleground, the Orc army that had crossed Loch Danmor and broken through Daelin's naval blockade at the Strait of Hormuz to enter Arathi gave all the Orcs Forces there an enormous boost in morale. It also allowed them to divert more troops toward the Durnholde Region.
In The Hinterlands, Yu Lin Bloodhawk had received no call for reinforcements from King Terenas of Lordaeron. Instead, an urgent letter from Mez'dra arrived first. Mez'dra had discovered that, after receiving support from the Orc army that had broken into the Arathi Battleground, the Orcs there had swiftly dispatched another force of at least three thousand into the Durnholde Region.
Mez'dra believed that these three thousand Orcs were advancing into the Durnholde Region to secure the supply route already opened for their main force marching north.
Meanwhile, the Orc corps previously fighting the Kingdom of Stormwind Restoration Corps and local guerrillas such as Blair's in the Durnholde Region had found a shallow stretch farther upriver and built